Tony Award-winners Randy Graff and Tonya Pinkins Join Celia Keenan-Bolger and Anthony Rapp in Annual NYCLU Fundraiser

‘Broadway Stands Up For Freedom’ on July 22 at the NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts

The New York Civil Liberties Union (the New York State affiliate of the ACLU) today announced a star-studded lineup of award-winning performers for ‘Broadway Stands Up for Freedom,’ its annual benefit show, to be held Monday, July 22 at the NYU Skirball Center for Performing Arts.

“We’re elated that so many talented performers generously support our work and celebrate the essential link between civil liberties and the arts,” said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. “It will be an exciting evening of great music and laughs, all for a worthy cause.”

Dozens of Broadway’s finest will perform, including Tony winners Tonya Pinkins (Jelly’s Last Jam, Caroline or Change) and Randy Graff (City of Angels); Tony nominees Celia Keenan-Bolger (…Spelling Bee; Peter & the Starcatcher), Kate Baldwin (Finian’s Rainbow) and Anthony Rapp (Rent); Julie Halston (Anything Goes), Nellie McKay (Threepenny Opera, Old Hats), Lisa Kron (Well), Zachary Prince (Baby, It’s You), Carrie Manolakos (Mamma Mia!) and founding performer Liana Stampur with Clinton Curtis, with more to come.

Susan Blackwell ([title of show]) will host; Georgia Stitt (America’s Got Talent, Broadway Divas) debuts as music director, with Daniel Goldstein (Godspell) returning as director.

In addition to some of Broadway’s hottest talent, the evening will feature the teenage winners of the NYCLU’s Freedom of Expression contest, which invites New York City public schools students to speak their minds on important civil liberties issues in their lives.

Proceeds from the show benefit the NYCLU’s youth programs, including its work with LGBT teenagers; its Teen Activist Project, which engages New York City teens as organizers and peer educators on civil rights and civil liberties issues; and its work to stop overly aggressive policing and zero-tolerance discipline in the city’s public schools.

VIP tickets and sponsorship packages, now on sale for $250 and up, can be purchased here. Individual tickets, $100/$60, will be available starting June 3 and can be purchased three ways: Online at www.nyuskirball.org; by phone at 212.352.3101, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., and 10 a.m. through 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday; or in person at the Shagan Box Office located in the Center’s lobby at 566 LaGuardia Place. (During the academic year (September-May), regular box office hours are Tuesday–Saturday, from noon to 6 p.m. plus two hours prior to performance. Summer hours may differ.)

For more information about the show, including a complete list of performers, visit www.nyclu.org/broadway.

To see photos of the 2011 concert, click here.

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is one of the nation’s foremost defenders of civil liberties and civil rights. Founded in 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, we are a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with eight chapters and regional offices and nearly 50,000 members across the state. Our mission is to defend and promote the fundamental principles and values embodied in the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution, and the New York Constitution, including freedom of speech and religion, and the right to privacy, equality and due process of law for all New Yorkers.

The Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts is the premier venue for the presentation of cultural and performing arts events for New York University and lower Manhattan. Led by executive producer Jay Oliva (President Emeritus, NYU) and senior director Michael Harrington, the programs of the Skirball Center reflect NYU’s mission as an international center of scholarship, defined by excellence and innovation and shaped by an intellectually rich and diverse environment. A vital aspect of the Center’s mission is to build young adult audiences for the future of live performance.